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Juventus, Ronaldo agree to forgo 90M euros in wages

Juventus team players pose prior to the start of the Champions League Group D soccer match against Bayer Leverkusen, on Dec. 11, 2019. (Martin Meissner / AP)

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ROME --
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates along with coach Maurizio Sarri agreed to forgo 90 million euros (US$100 million) in wages on Saturday to help the club during the coronavirus crisis.

The club said the money amounted to four months worth of wages, a third of players' salaries.

The first agreement of its kind in Serie A since play was halted three weeks ago means Ronaldo, the highest-paid player in the Italian league, will give up 10 million euros (more than $11 million).

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini, who has an economics degree, led the negotiations with the club and fellow players.

"Should the current season's matches be rescheduled, the club will negotiate in good faith with the players and the coach conditional increases of compensations according to the actual resumption and finalization of official competitions," Juventus said.

Aiming for a record-extending ninth straight Serie A title, Juventus leads the standings by one point from Lazio.

"Juventus would like to thank the players and the coach for their commitment at a difficult time for everyone," the club concluded.

All sports in Italy have been suspended under a nationwide lockdown through April 3 but health experts have said the need to try to contain the COVID-19 will likely last weeks beyond that. League officials have discussed resuming Serie A in May.

In this Aug. 25, 2018 file photo Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo looks to the sky as he reacts during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Lazio at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)